The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1920. THE PREMIER'S MESSAGE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3383, 12 January 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1920. THE PREMIER'S MESSAGE.

With which to incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News-”

The New Year’s ‘message to the people of the Empire frbm the Premiers of -the British Commonwealth is being discussed by city and provincial newspapers. In ‘some instances it is handled much as some newly-discovered curio would be, but in the majority of cases n-ewspapers amplify the Premiers’ message, while in a few there are notable convFr‘sions to’, the Pre.miers" way of thinking. The “Dominion” concludes a lengthy’ article by stating, “If statesmenwere sufiicient—ly strong, wise, and sincere to make policy and diplomacy conform to the requirements of Christian ethics the world would be -open for the realisationof the highest hopes of the best minds. A new and happier world would soon be created.” The morning -after the first appearance of the Premiers’ message, we stated precisely what the “Dominion” now says in almost the same words, but we saw no hope for the attainment of such statesmen as are needed. Statesman, politicians, and capitalists have tried every other way to world reconstruction, and those ways have admittedly proved failures, and in the last extremity the Premiers remember that there is a Christian moral code on which British laws are based; they ferret it out from old lumber depots, refurbish-it, and, discover that it is just what the world most needs, what the world must return to if reconstruction of society is to be rendered practicable and possible. The world has been too clever; it has tried a new “ism” and made a disastrous‘ failure; commercialism with its inseparable nraterialism has got the world into a tangle which is clogging the wheels of Government, industry, and society generally, and the first citizens in every community of the Empire have come to the conclusion that only a return to the moral code of Christianity can unravel it and again put the people of the world on the highway to prosperity, peace, and contentment. -Precept has its place, -but the statesmen with courage, wisdom, and, above all, sincerity, the “Dominion” mentions as being csscntilal, do not yet appear on the horizon. Not va. day passes but some newspaper is picked up bearing the inscription, “Prices Soaring,” “Go Slow Policy Adopted,” and such like. A widelyused commodity selling at £25 a ton before the war‘ was reported on Saturday to have gone up to £95 -a. ton, and the manufacturers attribute the in.crease to the ‘wages demanded_ ‘by mbour; does, can, anybody believe such a stlory?.One of the first things Mr Massey finds to do after the election is to proceed to the Soiith Island to ‘discuss the price of wheat, but n-0 one is deceived, for it IS well understood that wheat prices will be increased, and the price of bread will move in sympathy. Under commercialism men are not moral agents, they cannot act justly and honourably to each other; as the “Dominion” states it, “leaders of political thought have been forced to the conclusion that materialism is a very shaky basis for civilisation,” but until the courageous, just, sincere statesmen take up the cudgels for right and drop privilege for ever, materialism, profiteering, soaring prices, goslow and the strife, perhaps reyolution, inseparable therefrom will continue. The horrors of war have taught. the world. much, but it seems that only the worse horrors. of revolution will ‘open pc~oplc’s eyes to the fact that a shaky basis for civilisation means a tottering world in the end. Capitalists aretrying to repeat the crimes against the

people that followed Waterloo, but education stands opposed to la. repetition of that sin, and against attempts to unjustly increase the cost‘ of living the working classes use the only Weapon to their hand; they withdraw or adjust. the volume of labour they control. The reasoning of both is simple, though faulty; the profiteer is of opinion the goods are his by purchase, and he is thereby entitled to charge What he pleases for them; if people will not, or cannot, pay his price they can-, at least, starve. On the other hand workers I'et'a.liate with less work for wages with_ less purchasing power; neither is in -accordance with the Christian moral code, although it is quite in accord with the materialism of commercialism. There are no statesmen of courage, wisdow and honour to stop the destruction of ciViliSatioll by materialism -as practised by profiteers and other forms of commercialism, and it must therefore continue until it brings about its own destruction in its own way. Two very distinct classes are being rapidly evolved in the British Empire, trusts and profit-eers on one side, the working classes on the other, and there are indications that a crisis is not far distant, that a. clash of these two forces is imminent, unless ,the statesmen of wisdom and honour put in their appearance ‘in the meantime. The “Dominion” states, “the War has shown mankind that the only sure basis of international concord is the moral law," but does not the same ‘moral law lapply equally to communities. and to individuals‘? If justice does ‘not pervade dealings between man to -man there is dissatisfaction and disA ruption, and this happens just as often as the Christian moral code is disre.garded in any dealings, whether is be {of man to man or nation -to nation. The i great Powers are seeking a brotherhood of nations; man is still to be divided into two classes, the vultures I and the victims; cheaters -and liars and their dupes. Look to whatever part of the Empire one will, it is apparent that the masses of the people are rapidly flocking behind a banner that stands‘ for resentment and revenge; they are being driven there by ‘ -the inhuman practices 'of'profiteers, by men who will laugh at Premiers and their faith in the eternal validity of spiritual forces !that' are striving to secure the fullest possible measure of. good ilife for humanity. As we have before stated, it.is futile to approach profiteering and commercialis-m with precept; laws. have been enacted, and are still _'in force, based upon the Christian nror-al code, and until these laws:-are put into: practice and examples are made of men who stand in the way of law and ‘order there can ‘be no peace. It is now becoming generally admitted that there can be no return to peace and goodwill until statesmen, strong, wise, and sincere, make policy‘ and diplomacy conform to the requirements of Christian ethics. When such statesmen do really -enter the Empire arena, then, the “Dominion” says, “a new and happier "World would soon be created.” We wish it to be understood that in our references to Christian ethics, and the Christian, moral cede upon which British laws ‘are based, there is entire freedom from sectarianism and dogma. ‘The subject is discussed in its broadest sense. We make no apologyfor returning to the subject; the Premiers of the British Commonwealth have voiced what is true or what is false; if true, there should be no delay in putting such a policy into pl'actiCe_: if false, where are the men who willweo-mbat what the Premiers have embodied in a New Yearls Message to the people of the whole Enmil'c‘3